Korean American wins $1 million lottery prize from ticket brought at Korean-operated store

A Korean American has won a $1 million prize from a scratch-off lottery ticket, with the winning ticket purchased from a store also operated by a Korean American.

The California Lottery confirmed that Sungwook Joo, the winner, bought the winning ticket at “Mimi Lotto DTLA,” a small convenience store located on South Hill Street in downtown Los Angeles. The ticket, part of the “Multiplier Craze” series, offered odds of winning the jackpot at approximately 1 in 1.22 million—similar to the odds of flipping a coin and landing heads 20 times in a row.

In an interview with the Korea Daily, Joo shared that he had a vivid dream about golden excrement the night before purchasing the ticket. “The dream came to mind as I was heading home from work, so I decided to buy some lottery tickets,” he said. He purchased three scratch-off tickets, one of which turned out to be the jackpot winner.

Joo described the process of claiming his prize, stating, “I submitted my claim to the lottery office, went through an interview, and received the prize after about three months.” After taxes, which took roughly 30% of the winnings, Joo walked away with $700,000. When asked about his plans for the prize money, he revealed, “I don’t have any specific plans. My wife is managing all of it.”

Recalling the moment he discovered his win, he said, “I couldn’t believe it at first and checked multiple times using the lottery app. On the day I went to the lottery office to claim the prize, I was both excited and nervous.”

The owner of Mimi Lotto DTLA, Jenna Choi, expressed her delight at selling the winning ticket. “It feels great to have a winner come from my store,” she said, adding that the lottery commission rewarded her with a $5,000 seller bonus. Choi took over the store in June of last year and noted, “Although the store has been operating for about 20 years, this is the first time it had a big winner.”

Choi shared that her store frequently attracts Korean-American customers and that many downtown patrons prefer scratch-off tickets, which allow them to see results instantly. On the day of the interview, the popular “Multiplier Craze” tickets had already sold out at her store, underscoring their high demand.

A certificate from the California Lottery verifying the winning ticket was displayed at the store’s entrance. A non-Korean customer congratulated the store on the win, saying, “I sometimes buy tickets here, and it’s amazing to see a winner come from this spot. I hope some of that luck rubs off on me!”

The “Multiplier Craze” ticket, priced at $10, offers a grand prize of $1 million. Players can win by matching numbers, finding multiplier symbols (e.g., 2X, 5X), or uncovering a coin symbol.

This is the second time this year that a Korean American has won a significant lottery prize from a ticket sold by a Korean-operated store. On February 3, a Korean-American surnamed Jang won $20 million in the “SuperLotto Plus” draw, with the winning ticket purchased from a store owned by another Korean-American.

BY KYEONGJUN KIM, YOONJAE JUNG, YOUNGNAM KIM [kim.youngnam@koreadaily.com]